You Matter

Key Elements

In Luke 23:32-43, Jesus is crucified on the cross between two criminals, one who mocks Him and one who makes an honest request, and in His mercy, Jesus grants the request of the second thief to live in paradise with Him forever.

Main Idea: The Gospel is God’s great invitation to every person-no past is too broken and no life is beyond His reach because we all matter deeply to God.

I want my audience to realize that all people matter to God and let this transform their lives and motivate them to point all people to Jesus.

Intro

Have you ever had the thought or the feeling that you just don’t matter? I think that thought crosses our minds multiple times in our lives. Like the mistakes we’ve made are too great, or the chances we’ve missed are too many? We carry regrets that are so heavy at times that we feel like we are too far gone. And we even begin to conjure up the thought in our minds that God doesn’t care about us anymore. Sometimes in our lives we can get so low that we look around and everything seems to be falling apart and we feel alone and forgotten. And it’s in those rock bottom moments in our lives that God steps in. It almost seems like the God of the universe stops everything and reaches down for us.

And that’s exactly what happened on a hill called Calvary over 2,000 years ago. Three crosses stood against the darkening sky. The middle cross held Jesus, the perfect sinless Son of God, bearing the weight of the world’s sin. On either side hung two criminals-nameless, faceless men to the crowds below. Men who had made terrible choices. Men whose lives were measured in hours, not years. Men whom society had already written off.

One of those criminals, a dying thief with nothing to offer and everything to lose, spoke just a few words to Jesus. And in response, Jesus did something amazing. In the middle of His own agony, carrying the sins of humanity, facing the weight of divine judgment, Jesus turned to this man and made him a promise that would echo through eternity: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Not next week. Not after you’ve proven yourself. Not after you’ve done some things to earn it. Today.

And if God stopped in the middle of saving the world to assure one dying criminal that he mattered-that he was seen, known, and loved-what does that tell us about how much we matter to Him?

And that’s a question we want to answer today. That’s the exact truth that we want to focus in on: You Matter. You matter to God and you matter to us. As we continue our sermon series The Great Invitation, and open our copy of God’s Word to Luke 23 today we’re looking at a very unique story that Luke records for us. Out of all four Gospel writers in the NT, Luke is the only one who gives us this unique perspective. It’s a story that’s unusual, it’s a story that doesn’t quite fit in with our neat theological systems but it is a story that reinforces an amazing truth that we all need to realize: We all matter to God.

Message

So, as we look to the truth of God’s Word today, here’s the main idea of our message: The Gospel is God’s great invitation to every person-no past is too broken and no life is beyond His reach because we all matter deeply to God.

And this morning, as we look at this very significant event in Luke 23:32-43, we see three life-changing truths from this encounter that prove beyond any doubt: You Matter.

1. Our past doesn’t disqualify us. (vs. 32-33; 39-41)

Have you ever experienced a situation where you just knew the outcome wasn’t going to be good but you were actually surprised by the result? Because of something you did in your past or how you had applied yourself leading up to a certain point or a certain time where the outcome was going to be revealed, you knew that the results weren’t going to be good. I’ve actually experienced this many times in my life but one that really sticks out in my mind was when I was taking Hebrew in seminary while I was working on my master’s degree. I was in my second year in seminary at NOBTS, I was a youth minister fulltime at a church, our kids were in elementary school and middle school. Life was pretty crazy at the time and that semester I decided, against the advice of many people way smarter than me, to take my first semester of Greek and Hebrew plus 3 other classes. So, I was loaded down in school and ministry and life and not listening to anyone, I thought I could keep up with it all. And in my classes, I began to struggle from the very beginning. I was supposed to be spending time every day on my Hebrew homework so as to not get behind and I was doing great at the beginning but I slowly began to fall behind. And then, in the middle of all of that, I committed to go on a 14 day trip to Israel with my church. I thought, I’ll have time to study on the plane going over there, cause it’s like a 14 hour flight, I’ll be in Israel where they speak Hebrew, and I’ll study on the flight coming back. By the time I get back to the states and back in class, i should be able to speak Hebrew fluently. Well, what happened? I got further and further behind before we left for the trip and on the trip, I didn’t study at all. So, 1 week after I returned, we had the final and I didn’t know a lick of Hebrew. So, I went to my professor and explained to him what was going on but there was nothing he could do. So the morning of the final, I go into class and he calls us up to get the final and he hands me mine and he says “Brett, don’t leave anything blank, I even need you to write your name at the top of the test. I can’t give you credit if you don’t put anything down.” So, I take the final, I have no idea what any of it says of means, I’m just writing down nonsense. I turn it in knowing I’ve failed. The next week we get our final exams back and I had made a C, like the lowest score to get a C. So after class, I go to my professor and as I’m walking up he’s smiling. And before I could get the words out of my mouth, he says, “only by grace my friend, only by grace.”

You see, I was not prepared. What I had done or not done leading up to the exam actually would have disqualified me from passing that course. But the professor overlooked all of that and showed me grace. And that’s a beautiful truth that we see from the very beginning today. The story we are focusing in on today is found in vs. 39-43, but it is set in the greater story of the crucifixion of Jesus. Now, this is usually a story we focus in on at Easter when we talk about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s actually the greatest story that’s ever been told. It’s the perfect sinless Son of God giving His life on the cross for the sins of the world. It’s what we call the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. And it’s an event that has changed many of our lives as followers of Jesus and can change your life as well. And Luke, the writer of this gospel, does what the other gospel writers do, he introduces us to two criminals that are crucified alongside Jesus Christ. He says in vs. 32-33,...

So, the scene is set for us here. Jesus Christ has been falsely accused and has been tried by the Jewish religious leaders and found guilty by Jewish law. After manipulating the narrative to fit their accusations, the Jewish religious leaders take Him to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea at the time. Pilate finds no fault in Jesus but giving in to the pressure of the people, after having him scourged almost to death, he sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion. And at this point He is led away to be crucified. And what we find out here at the beginning of this section of scripture is that Jesus is not only crucified Himself but there are two criminals that are crucified with Him one on either side. So, you have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hanging on the middle cross. He’s innocent, He’s done nothing to deserve this punishment and you have two men on either side of him who are guilty. They do deserve this punishment. But one of these men is about to learn a great truth that God wants all of us to see today, our past doesn’t disqualify us.

And the reason that is true is because...

a. Sin defines but never disqualifies.

So, look at what these two men had in common. Luke calls them “criminals.” Literally, meaning “insurrectionists.” These guys were violent, desperate men. They had a hatred of Rome to their core and their desire was to overthrow the power of the Roman government. Matthew and Mark in their gospels call them thieves. Either way, they had done something so violent against Rome it caused them to be deserving of death by crucifixion.

Both were equal in their crimes, equal in their punishment, and, from all indications, equal in their desire for Jesus to save them, just not in the same way. Matthew and Mark also tell us that both men started by cursing Jesus and hurling insults at Him. Both men were equally sinful and guilty before the government of Rome and were also guilty before Jesus the Son of God who was hanging on the cross between them. Both men were defined by the sin that had wrecked their lives.

But we see a defining moment here in vs. 39-41… (read vs. 39)

One of the criminals continues down the same path undaunted and unchanged. He sees Jesus hanging on the cross, suffering just as he is. He sees the sign insultingly nailed above Jesus that says “The King of Jews.” And instead of believing in Jesus as the Son of God, he joins in with the mocking crowd and says “prove it, if you are the Messiah, the King, save yourself and us.”

But here’s where things get interesting, look at vs. 40-41...

So, notice the difference between these two men. Both violent criminals. Both punished harshly for their crimes. Both guilty before God and men. Both defined by their sins and what they had done. But one chooses to repent and fall on the mercy and grace of the man on the middle cross. You see, sin defines but never disqualifies. This thief was a criminal, this thief was guilty and he openly admits his guilt before everyone. He says, “we are getting what we deserve for what we’ve done.” But then he looks at the other thief and at Jesus and he proclaims that Jesus is innocent. And in his mind, in his desperation, this dying man believes in Jesus as the Messiah, the perfect sinless Son of God.

This man, dying in his sin, was not disqualified from the salvation that Jesus was dying on the cross to provide. As great as his sin was, it wasn’t great enough to disqualify him from the forgiveness and grace Jesus was offering.

And today, you may feel defined by your worst moments-addiction, betrayal, regret-but none of those sins are greater than the grace of God and none of those disqualifies you from the salvation Jesus died to give you.

Sin defines but never disqualifies and...

b. God values what the culture deems unworthy.

This man had been sentenced to death by the Roman government as a criminal. He was seen by the culture and society as a man who deserved to die-worthless, disposable, a man whose life didn’t matter. According to the people around him, especially on the hillside that day at the foot of the cross, this man had been deemed unworthy. He was written off by the culture; but in one moment, His life was changed. In one desperate moment, he is recognized by the God of the universe as worthy. A man, who the culture had labeled as unworthy, God had sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for.

And that’s the difference between Heaven’s economy and the economy of the culture. All the important “religious” people missed Jesus entirely. But a dying criminal, deemed worthless by the culture, recognized Jesus as the King. And that’s the way it works in the Kingdom of God. It flips our understanding of value upside down. And it proves to us that God doesn’t assess value the way the culture does. People, the culture sees as unworthy, God ascribes to them value. He doesn’t measure significance by social status, moral track record, or reputation. In the economy of heaven, the last become first, the lost become found, and the guilty are forgiven.

And today, if you feel written off by the culture around you-by family, friends, co workers-if you feel unworthy, then you need to hear Jesus saying to you you are loved, you are valued, and you matter. You need to hear the people of God here at Stone Ridge saying we love you and we believe God has a purpose for your life. If you are valuable to God, which you are, you are valuable to us. But also, I think there is a convicting lesson for us here as followers of Jesus. No one is too far gone for God to reach them. No one is beyond the grace and forgiveness of God. No one is unworthy, but everyone is valuable to God. He has created all of us in His image. We are all image bearers of Almighty God and we matter deeply to God. If we want proof of that, all we have to do is look to the cross where Jesus gave His life for us.

You matter and it’s seen in the truth that our past doesn’t disqualify us.

So, if our past doesn’t disqualify us, here’s even better news this morning...

2. Our present moment doesn’t distance us. (vs. 42)

Have you ever felt distant from God? I think all of us could answer yes to that question. Whether it was because of the season of life you were in or situations you were facing. We all at some point in our lives have felt like God seems far away.

And some of us in the room today may feel that way currently in our lives. There may be something that is happening in your life right now where it feels like God is distant. But the truth is He’s not. And what we see in Jesus’ interaction with this man on the cross proves it.

Look at what happens here, this is amazing. Vs. 42...

There it is. “Remember me.” This man who, in his present moment, is dying a horrible death. Who is experiencing unimaginable suffering. He’s being crucified, which was designed to bring out the maximum pain where the person on the cross was begging for death. Every breath he is breathing is torture. And in this present moment, his worst moment, he finds the strength to cry out to Jesus.

He says, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom!” And this word “remember” is really critical to understanding his request of Jesus. It literally means to “remember with an implication to reward or punish.” What this man is saying is “do as you see fit, Jesus. I know that you are the Messiah, but when you get to wherever it is you are going, this kingdom you have been talking about, into whatever reward you are coming into, will you please stop and remember me?” You see, we don’t know this because the Bible doesn’t mention it but we can imagine that this was not the first time this man had heard of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was a popular guy. He was known all over the region and beyond for the message He was preaching and the ministry of healing and His confrontations with the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. If this man had not heard Jesus teach directly, he had probably heard from others about the Kingdom of God that He was proclaiming. And in his present moment, hanging on the cross next to Jesus, he cries out and asks Jesus to remember him. And here’s what’s even more amazing, Jesus does.

You see, our present moment our present circumstances, whatever they may be do not distance us from God. Because...

a. God is present in the midst of our pain.

Notice, and we’ll talk about this in more detail in a moment, Jesus didn’t ignore this man’s request. In the midst of His own pain and suffering, Jesus wasn’t consumed with Himself. In fact, earlier in vs. 34, Jesus had asked God the Father from the cross to forgive the very people who were torturing Him. He didn’t ask the guy to clean himself up or wait til things got more comfortable. Jesus engaged him right were he was in the most painful moment of his life. Jesus met this man where he was.

And that’s exactly what Jesus does for all of us, He meets us where we are in the present moments of our lives. It’s the same beautiful truth we saw in the story of the Prodigal Son that last couple of weeks, God comes running to you and to me. It’s who He is, He is Immanuel-God with us. Not “God watching us from a distance,” not “God after we straighten up.” He is God WITH us. In the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the darkness, in the midst of the struggle, and in the midst of the pain. Just as this man experienced Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, present with him in the midst of the most painful moment of his life, God is present with us as well.

And those of us who are followers of Jesus know that to be true. Think about it, it’s in the most painful moments of our lives that God is the closest and most precious to us. Even when we thought He was distant, when we look back, we see He was present all along. And it’s in those painful moments when our self sufficiency is stripped from us and our illusion of control is exposed that we feel the clear presence of Jesus.

God is present in the midst of our pain and...

b. God is powerful to transform our future. (he asked in faith and Jesus responded)

Think about the audacity of this request. This man looks to Jesus, who, again, was suffering Himself. Who was experiencing every bit of pain that he was feeling. He sees the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet. He sees the crown of thorns on His head. He sees Jesus’ body broken and bloody, beaten beyond recognition. But he looks past all of this and sees the One who has the power to transform his future. In faith, he asks Jesus to do for him what he could not do for himself. In this request, he is believing that his present death on the cross will not be his future, but that Jesus had the power to change everything for him. His past was a life of crime, his present was a painful death on the cross, but his future was transformation.

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot fix ourselves. We cannot change our past. We, most of the time, can’t fix our present circumstances in and of ourselves. But when we call on Jesus, He has the power to transform our future. And as we call out to Jesus in faith as this man did that day and believe in His promise of salvation, God powerfully transforms our future. That’s how much we matter to God. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to be sacrificed so that we wouldn’t have to sit in our present circumstances but can live transformed lives by the power of God.

You matter and it’s seen in the truth that our present moment doesn’t distance us from God.

And there’s a final truth for us to see today, when we trust Jesus...

3. Our eternity is secure in God’s promise. (vs. 43)

This man falls on the mercy and the grace of Jesus and look what happens. Vs. 43...

Again, there’s boldness here in what this man asks of Jesus. He had done nothing to earn the right to ask anything of Jesus. Up to this point, his life had been a mess. And Jesus didn’t have anything to gain from granting his request. But in mercy and love, Jesus responds and says “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” It’s what we saw in Luke 15-It’s the father welcoming home his lost son. It’s the shepherd going after the one sheep. It’s the woman turning the house upside down to find the lost coin. It’s the God of the universe pursuing lost people, desiring that they be found. It’s the story of all of us. And it’s us repenting and turning to God so that we will be found. All because we matter to God. And when we do that, here’s the promise we can hold on to-our eternity is secure.

You see,...

a. God’s promise is immediate.

Look at vs. 43 again, Jesus says “TODAY,.…” Not one day or someday, TODAY. Immediately. Because of Jesus’ promise, as soon as that man died, he walked into heaven. Zero gap between death and the glory of heaven. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross was the sufficient sacrifice for sin, nothing else is needed, only faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

And I have to believe that changed everything for this man. I have to believe he spent the last hours of his life, as painful as they were, with hope that he would be in paradise with Jesus.

And today, that’s the same hope we have as followers of Jesus. That God’s promise of salvation based on the sacrifice of Jesus is immediate. It’s not based on us or anything we do or don’t do, but it is based on what Jesus has done for us. And today, if you’ve never surrendered your heart and life to Jesus and you want this same security, you can have it by calling on the name of Jesus today, repenting of the way you’re living and surrendering your heart and life to Him as Savior and Lord. And as soon as you, your eternity is immediately secure in and through Jesus Christ.

God’s promise is immediate and...

b. God’s promise is complete.

Jesus says “TODAY, YOU WILL BE....” Not “you might be.” “You will be.” When Jesus said it, at that very moment, it was done. This man’s eternity was secure. And notice, Jesus says “TODAY, YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.” Jesus promised this believing criminal that he would share life with Him in heaven. The same heaven Jesus was going to enter upon death was the same place this man would spend eternity as well. It’s an absolute promise with unshakeable certainty. Full access, complete acceptance, total belonging. His salvation wasn’t partial or conditional-it was complete.

And the same is true for you and me and for anyone who calls on Jesus and places their faith and trust in Him. The Bible says that “all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved.” If you have done that, your eternity is secure and God’s promise is complete because of Jesus. You can live the life that God has created you to live bringing honor and glory to His name and making disciples of Him. And if you haven’t, today your life can change forever as you call on the name of Jesus and surrender to Him as Savior and Lord trusting in His promise to save you.

Closing

Our past, our present, and our future-you matter to God in every moment of your life. The thief on the cross is proof: if Jesus cared about this man who had a sinful past, a painful present existence on the cross, and a hopeless future and saved him, then He can save you as well. He can save that person you’re praying for. The message of Luke 23:32-43 isn’t just for that one thief. It’s that we all matter to God. And His grace is scandalously available, radically sufficient, and eternally secure for anyone who calls on Jesus and turns to Him in faith.